SOCIOL 2S06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Social Stigma, Ethnic Stereotype, Erving Goffman
8 May 2016
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Having a date, and the person you are on the date with isn"t. However if they don"t, there is no stake: criticisms of dramaturgical theory, problematic view of people. Some sociologists suggested that goffman saw people in a very cynical way. They argued that he saw people as conniving, and selfish. The general thrust of this theory is that people manipulate other people to get what they want. A waiter is manipulating the customers in the restaurant because he wants a big tip. At a job interview, you are manipulating the potential: insufficient attention to structure employer in order to get the job. Argued by some critics that goffman paid too much attention to agency, and not enough attention to structure. His theory was focused on personal will and their intent, his theory isn"t addressing the social issues (how class, status, power, etc can effect interaction) He"s not addressing the structure, he"s just focusing on issues of agency.
